Beach Couture in Malibu

Celebrity stylist Anya Sarre outfitted her stunning California home by following these seven easy rules of style.

1. Accessorize Your Space

Anya Sarre knows a thing or two about style; after all, she's dressed her fair share of A-listers for the red carpet. So when it came to decorating her Malibu home, she fell back on some important style lessons she's picked up along the way: Always dress to impress, accentuate your best features, and know when to break the rules. Another similarity between home design and fashion? The right accessories can make even the most practical look shine. So on the balcony and around the house, Sarre piled on pillows for style. “They’re like jewelry for a room,” she says. “No space is complete without them!”

Bold turquoise defines the living room. Sarre introduced vibrant rugs and chairs that set the tone in an otherwise all-white room. “The colors feel resort-chic and beachy,” she says. “Plus they make me smile.”

To Sarre, monograms represent a preppy, feminine sensibility, so she had a blast incorporating them into the home’s design—from hand towels in each bath and artwork throughout to the barstool seats in the kitchen. “They’re a great way to personalize a house,” she says. “I love how they look.”

Sarre's home forgoes a lot of pomp and circumstance for a simple, chic aesthetic that keeps the focus on the home’s ocean views, while still having fun thanks to irreverent accents and graphic prints throughout.

Despite the narrow dimensions of the living room, the homeowners still manage to accommodate a crowd, thanks in large part to a custom, wrap-around banquette, which has become a hot spot for guests. “It’s comfortable and has a great view,” says Sarre. “We love to open the windows and feel the saltwater breezes.”

While the louvered shutters and v-groove paneling in the house needed a little TLC, Sarre was adamant that they stay put as an homage to the home’s original quaint, coastal feel. She compensated for the vast white expanses in the master bedroom by adding punchy accents of pink, turquoise, and silvery gray.

Sarre outfitted her son’s nursery with a bassinet that her grandfather built for her when she was a baby. The dark wood piece is now painted white to match the room, with a custom bumper and cushion and a monogram decal at each end. “Making a few modifications doesn’t change the fact that heirlooms are still a part of your family history,” she says. “They add so much meaning to a space.”